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Monday, March 18, 2024

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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

In November 2023, the Financial Times reported that Trump was "planning to gut" the Inflation Reduction Act, increase investment in fossil fuels and roll back regulations to encourage electric vehicles. (Adobe Stock)
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Monday, March 18, 2024
As Coloradans begin to weigh their options in this year's presidential election, a new Carbon Brief analysis projects that a second Biden term would …

Federal legislation has been introduced to improve the efficiency of the U.S. electrical grid. The FASTER Act would amend the Federal Power Act to expedite the review and permitting of electric transmission facilities. (Adobe Stock)
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Environmental groups in Virginia are among those looking at how to improve and modernize electrical grid transmission. Experts said the grid's age …

In 2014, an instrument aboard the International Space Station spotted the largest methane cloud ever measured above New Mexico's San Juan Basin. (NASA.gov)
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The first satellite launched by a nonprofit organization is now circling the globe, getting ready to deliver data on methane pollution from oil and …

The Atlantic herring is one of the most important fishery resources in Maine, supplying the primary bait used in its iconic lobster industry. It is also an important forage species for seabirds, marine mammals and a variety of larger fish species, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. (Adobe Stock)<br />
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Monday, March 18, 2024
Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

Wolverine fur is remarkably waterproof, which helps keep the animal warm in deep snow. (Adobe Stock)
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Colorado may soon welcome back wolverines, an animal with a reputation for its ferocity and strength nearly wiped out by trapping, poisoning and …

The Environmental Protection Agency finds neonicotinoids could jeopardize more than 200 plants and animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. (Adobe Stock)
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A Connecticut bill would have restricted toxic pesticides called neonicotinoids - or so it seemed. The bill's newest iteration, some experts feel…

In 2023, operators plan to retire 15.6 gigawatts (GW) of electric-generating capacity in the United States, mostly gas-fired (6.2 GW) and coal-fired (8.9 GW) power plants, according to federal data. (Adobe Stock)<br />
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Monday, March 18, 2024
Kentucky House lawmakers are considering a bill that could make it harder to close aging coal-fired power plants. At the Kentucky Resources Council…

Along with making the operation of Long Island's power grid more efficient, a bill before the Legislature would enshrine the protection of wages, benefits and collective-bargaining agreements for around 1,500 Local 1049 union members. (Adobe Stock)
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Friday, March 15, 2024
New York's state lawmakers are considering a measure that would shake up the way Long Island's power grid operates. The Long Island Power Authority …

Backers of establishing a cleaner standard for transportation fuel in Minnesota say it would apply to both in-state producers, as well fuel that's imported. (Adobe Stock)
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Minnesota already has a law calling for 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. Now, there's a similar plan for transportation, and a legislative …

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Tourism and outdoor recreational are top drivers of New Mexico's economy. (Pew Charitable Trusts)
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Monday, March 18, 2024
New Mexico has one of the nation's last "wild" rivers, free of human-made structures and community representatives will be back in the nation's …

The Environmental Protection Agency said wetlands' sponge-like ability to absorb water slows the momentum of floodwaters or a coastal storm surge. (Adobe Stock)
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Monday, March 18, 2024
The Supreme Court's decision in 2023 to roll back the Clean Water Act has meant less federal oversight in protecting the country's wetlands. …

Environmental advocates contend a logging project bordering Montana's Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness Area threatens habitat for the lynx, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. (Adobe Stock)
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Monday, March 18, 2024
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies has sued the U.S. Forest Service over a logging project in southwestern Montana. The group claims the agency …

The USDA is finalizing a series of rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act as part of President Biden's Executive Order on Promoting Competition in America's economy.
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Monday, March 18, 2024
Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…

A proposal before the California Air Resources Board would allow fossil fuel producers in California to buy credits from factory farms that use anaerobic digesters like these to extract methane from animal waste. (Rob Thomas/Adobe Stock)
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Community groups in the Midwest are worried a change in California carbon emissions policy could hurt quality of life in the nation's heartland…

Biodigester plants have become a popular option in using government incentives to help reduce livestock emissions but skeptics contended they will create more environmental problems by spurring more factory farms. (Adobe Stock)
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New forms of renewable energy are emerging within the agricultural sector but a California initiative, which has connections to states like South …

Many species, including sea lions, are injured or killed by set gillnets, which target halibut and white sea bass. (Robert Schwemmer/NOAA)
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A new bill aims to reduce the number of sea lions, sharks, rays, skates and giant sea bass dying off the coast of Southern California in huge set …

An octopus hides out while a squat lobster stands guard beneath a vase sponge at a recently identified reef off Santa Barbara Island. (Oceana)
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Good news for fishing crews and marine conservationists: Large fishing grounds are reopening, while other areas receive new protections. Some 4,500 …

Eelgrass, pictured here at Joemma Beach State Park, provides food, shelter, and nursery habitat for a wide range of creatures, ranging from small invertebrates to commercially important fish species and wading birds. (WA DNR Nearshore Habitat Program)
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Bull Kelp in South and Central Puget Sound has declined more than 90% over the last 150 years - and eelgrass meadows severely declined as well…

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The National League of Cities is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. (Dave Newman / Adobe Stock)
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Kristopher Dahir, Ward 5 city councilor in Sparks, is one of more than 2,800 city leaders in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss city topics and …

Utah has invested significantly in transportation over the last 30 years, and these investments will need to continue, according to a Guiding Our Growth survey. (Adobe Stock)
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A coalition of Utah stakeholders is launching the "Campaign for Public Transit in the 435," which will aim to bring better forms of transit to those w…

Almost all of New Mexico's 2,000 school buses run on diesel fuel. (Thomas/AdobeStock)
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Studies show the health of New Mexico children who ride school buses could improve if the buses were electric instead of diesel, and efforts are …

Ellicott City flooding in 2016 and 2018 were both described as one-in-1,000-year flood events. (Cheryl Crumm/Adobe Stock)
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Advocates are asking Maryland lawmakers to establish a superfund to help hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the costs of climate change…

Nine in 10 voters across eight Mountain West states including Colorado want oil and gas companies, not federal and state governments, to pay for cleanup and restoration costs. (Adobe Stock)
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Voters, including 74% of Republicans, 87% of Independents and 96% of Democrats, would support candidates in elections who prioritize conservation on …

Data from 2021 estimated only 3.5% of organic waste generated in Baltimore was diverted for composting. (Adobe Stock)
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The founder of the Baltimore Compost Collective wants Baltimore to ditch trash incineration, fight climate change and grow healthier food. Marvin …

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, the founder of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance and co-founder of Tree-Range Farms. These entities have created an "ecosystem" that includes more than 40 farms and a processing plant in the Upper Midwest. (Photo courtesy of Leia Marasovich, Farmer's Footprint)
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By Twilight Greenaway for Civil Eats.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Publi…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates up to 15 million acres of soybeans have been damaged by dicamba drifting beyond where it was applied. (Adobe Stock)
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A federal court has banned the use of a highly controversial but popular pesticide in the Midwest. Advocates for sustainable agriculture said the …

Between 2017 and 2022, Wisconsin saw a 23% increase in the acreage of farmland with cover crops. (Adobe Stock)
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Farming trend researchers are poring over new federal data that only come around every five years. The latest information helps some organizations …

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Water flows through part of Dos Rios Ranch Preserve. The former farmland now acts as a storage area for floodwaters during wet years. (Cameron Nielsen/Grist)
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By Jake Bittle for Grist.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Grist-Public News Service Collaboration Th…

Some 200 miles of the Hudson River are considered a Superfund site due to the high amount of contamination, but only 40 miles of the Upper Hudson are General Electric's responsibility. (Adobe Stock)
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New York lawmakers are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to keep dredging the Hudson River. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., sent a …

Most Arizona voters believe the drought is continuing to worsen, and that policymakers need to do more to protect the state's water future and secure long-term water supplies. (Adobe Stock)
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Arizona leaders, advocates and high school students gathered to commemorate Environmental Day at the Arizona State Capitol on Thursday. Rep. …

Leslie Gulch is among the locations receiving added protections from a new Bureau of Land Management resource plan for southeast Oregon. (BLM)
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The remote landscape of southeastern Oregon is receiving additional protections. The Bureau of Land Management has finalized its resource management …

The lands under consideration for the Sáttítla National Monument in the Medicine Lake Highlands are currently managed by the U.S. Forest Service. (Bob Wick)
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Tribes in far northeastern California are pressing President Joe Biden to create a new national monument about 30 miles from Mount Shasta. The Pit …

In New Mexico, three-quarters of new survey respondents said they do not want protections rolled back on national monuments. (National Park Service)
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A new poll showed New Mexico voters expressed a deep affection for lands, water and wildlife and want policies offering greater protections. The 14…

Bayer Corp. recently agreed to create a $15 billion fund for consumers who contracted cancer and other diseases caused by its weed killer Roundup. (Adobe Stock)
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A coalition of advocacy groups has helped defeat a bill in the Idaho Legislature which would have given the pesticide industry blanket immunity from l…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported neonicotinoids could jeopardize more than 200 plants and animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. (Adobe Stock)
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Wildlife advocates are urging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign what's known as the Birds and Bees Protection Act. The bill bans neonicotinoids…

PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," enter public water systems across the country through industrial discharges and other substances, such as firefighting foam. (Rawpixels)
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Environmental groups say a proposal to cut $4 billion from the Environmental Protection Agency budget would gut the regulations designed to clean up t…

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A similar bill failed to pass last year. Opponents of the revived legislation say it's a win for puppy mills and pet-store owners. (Adobe Stock)
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Some Hoosiers want Indiana lawmakers to rethink proposed legislation that would usurp existing local laws that prohibit retailers from selling puppies…

Horses, like people, typically only show signs of osteoarthritis at advanced stages, when they experience joint pain. (Adobe Stock)
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Researchers at Colorado State University are making headway in identifying how osteoarthritis progresses in horses, and their findings could one day …

The Smithsonian Institution estimates 600 million birds a year are killed in the U.S. by flying into windows. Window strikes are most common among migratory species, such as native sparrows and warblers, already facing some of the most drastic population declines. (OllieT/Adobe Stock)
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Spring brings about migration season for birds, but home and workplace windows can often prevent them from getting to their final destination…

Y12 annually hosts female high school students as part of a program called "Introduce a Girl to Engineering." The goal of the event is to inspire girls to pursue careers in STEM-related fields. (angellodeco/Adobe Stock)
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Environmental groups in Tennessee will soon learn more about the approval process behind a radioactive waste landfill which has been processing and st…

A mural at the Patagonia store in Belltown, Washington, reminds residents they all live downriver from the Hanford nuclear site. (Hanford Challenge)
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"We all live downriver from Hanford," is the message painted on the windows of the Patagonia store in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood. It is a …

According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the Y12 complex has about 4,500 employees and another 2,000 contractors. (Enzo/Adobe Stock)
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A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing health and safety concerns about the development of a landfill for radioactive waste from the Y12 Ura…

Critics of PacifiCorp say the company broke a 2004 promise to retrofit its hydroelectric dams to include fish passages. (Kevin/Adobe Stock)
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Coming into the new year, Columbia Riverkeeper is supporting efforts by the Cowlitz Tribe and Yakama Nation to restore salmon migration throughout …

Salmon continue to struggle to migrate from the Pacific Ocean to Idaho to spawn. (NorthwestWildImages/Adobe Stock)
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The Biden administration wants to get serious about restoring salmon populations to the Northwest. A presidential memorandum directs federal …

Roughly 68 million culverts carry roadways that were built with design approaches dating from the 1950s, which did not consider the needs of aquatic organisms to move up and downstream, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. (Adobe Stock)
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Fish passage is set to improve in the Northwest with an investment from Congress's bipartisan infrastructure law. The Biden administration has …

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Americans generate about 6.9 million tons of e-waste each year. (Adobe Stock)
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Tech giant Microsoft has responded to concerns about the environmental impact of discontinuing support for Windows 10 by offering extended security up…

Some 90% of middle and high schools and 84% of elementary schools were providing a device for every student, according to a March 2021 Education Week survey of school leaders. (Adobe Stock)
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Education advocates say pending expiration dates for Google Chromebooks teach kids the wrong lesson about technology. Software on thirteen models …

People can cut down on single-use plastics by avoiding bottled soft drinks and bottled water, and bringing reusable jugs instead. (Lazyllama/Adobe Stock)<br />
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This Fourth of July, ocean conservation groups want Americans to declare their independence from single-use plastics. A new report, "Charting a …

 

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